Shades of Souls Passed by Teresa R. Andrews is a slim little volume, with my original plan having been to pair a review with an author interview, but for some reason we never reconnected on that front. Halloween came and went, the seasonality of it kind of slipped from my focus . . . and, well, here we are playing catch up.This was quite an entertaining read, offering up some real-life ghost stories that were well-told. The stories were straightforward, with no unnecessary embellishment, and with none of the annoying pseudo-scientific gadgetry or spiritual nonsense to oversell the 'reality' of the ghosts. I love a good ghost story, and am quite content to have it told to me as it happened - I really don't need to be convinced of 'evidence' to enjoy the chills.
Thanksgiving Weekend and Dark Night of the Soul were two definite favourites, both very different stories, about very different experiences, but with that all-important human connection. Hide and Seek was a cute departure from the usual thrills and chills, bringing forth a tinge of melancholy sadness that it later echoed by The Meadow. The Bonnie Brae Loch was a 'classic' ghost story in every sense, while Winter Storm most closely resembled my experiences over a couple summers of exploring supposedly haunted locations in Southern Ontario.
If there's one thing I would have liked to see paired with each story, it's a little background on the history or events behind the story. A simple paragraph as an intro or a conclusion, or even as an appendix, would have sealed the deal for me. While I don't care to be told what kind of psychic vibrations or EMP readings accompanied a ghostly experience, I d like the closure of a good story, one that at least suggests who may be behind the haunting and why.
That minor quibble aside, this was an interesting collection that flows very well, with a narrative voice perfectly suited to the telling.
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